Interrogating the Individual

In Western society, individuals are continuously monitored by technical systems, everything from CCTV cameras that follow our movements to the microscopic level of magnetic resonance scans that record our responses to a variety of stimuli.

These apparently unconnected technical systems are all part of an attempt to interpret and manage the minute functions of human beings.

What effect does this kind of continuous ambient monitoring have on how we imagine ourselves and others around us?

In the shadow of this type of top down interrogation of the individual the Bio mapping project suggests a different type of body politic.

The central notion of Bio Mapping is that we can make better sense of our own body data than a disinterested observer.

By recording our own body's bio data along with our geographic location we can review the information and make meaningful decisions about our life.

Furthermore those close to us both physically and socially may have a certain interest in how we interpret our environment.

By allowing people to make active choices about how to share this intimate yet ambiguous data we not only create radically new social relations but we also change our own perception of ourselves from being at the mercy of these nearly invisible technical systems to becoming their master.

This process in turn suggests a whole range of new technologies that invert the control paradigm of biometric technologies.

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Christian Nold christian@softhook.com
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The San Francisco Emotion Map is complete. At the end of July I will be Bio Mapping in Tokyo. Until then I am working on my book and setting up a project in Stockport and Stoke Newington. Please see my main site for more info.

Bio Mapping has won the SciArt R&D award which will give me time to write a book about the project and commission some critical / historical essays around the project. If you are intersted in writing one get in touch!